Blower Door Testing

Blower Door Testing

Drafty Rooms. Rising Bills. Freezing Pipes in a Newer Home. What’s Really Going On?

If you’re struggling with comfort issues or high heating costs, the problem might not be what you think. You can’t always see the cracks and gaps letting outdoor air sneak in—or the warm air slip away.

That’s why we use blower door testing: a powerful diagnostic tool that helps us measure your home’s air leakage, pinpoint energy waste, and recommend upgrades that actually solve the problem.

Whether your home is brand new or 100 years old, air leaks could be costing you money and comfort. We’re here to help you find them—and fix them.

Evergreen Team Conducting A Blower Door Test
Setting-up a blower door test in a house

What Is a Blower Door Test?

A blower door test uses a powerful fan installed in an exterior doorway to lower the air pressure inside your home. This forces outside air to rush in through cracks, gaps, and holes—revealing where your home is leaking air.

While the test runs, we use an infrared thermal camera to detect hidden problem areas behind walls, around rim joists, in the attic, and more. Summer’s a great time to conduct this test, as the leaks entering your living spaces from your attic or the outdoors are colored warm or hot, while the colder air leaking up from the basement or crawlspace will show up as cool on our cameras. 

The result? A detailed picture of your home’s energy performance—one that helps us target the right upgrades for maximum comfort and savings.

How Blower Door Testing with Evergreen Works

  1. We prepare your home: closing exterior doors and windows, opening interior doors, covering ashes in wood stoves and fireplaces, and turning off all combustion equipment.
  2. We install the blower door fan in one of your exterior doorways and turn it on, depressurizing your home.
  3. We measure the amount of air coming in to determine how “leaky” your house is.
  4. We then scan with a thermal camera to reveal the exact spots where insulation and air sealing are needed.

This is part of our full energy audit we use to design smart, effective insulation and air sealing upgrades.

Evergreen Blower Door Testing
Blower Door Testing

Why Blower Door Testing Matters for Your Home

A blower door test gives us data, not guesswork. That means smarter upgrades and measurable results.

With the insights from this test, Evergreen can help you:

  • Identify and seal hidden air leaks
  • Improve your home’s comfort and consistency
  • Cut down on heating and cooling bills
  • Reduce strain on your HVAC system, especially recently installed heat pumps and mini-splits
  • Protect indoor air quality by achieving the right balance of airtightness and ventilation

Blower door testing doesn’t just reveal when your home is too leaky—it can also show if it’s too airtight. In homes that have been over-sealed without proper ventilation, indoor air quality can suffer.

We use this information to make sure your home is healthy and recommend ventilation solutions if needed to keep your indoor air fresh, safe, and clean.

Plus, blower door testing is required for Efficiency Maine insulation rebates. We’ll do a pre-project test to establish a baseline and then a final test at the end to confirm the quality of our work and to prepare the final rebate application. 

Trusted Blower Door Testing for Maine Homes

From historic homes to newer builds in Rockland all the way down to Portland, we’ve tested—and improved—thousands of homes across Coastal and Southern Maine.

You don’t have to know whether blower door testing is right for your home—we’ll help you figure that out. Let’s talk about what you’re experiencing and decide on the best next step together.

Exterior view of a Maine Home

Call 207-594-2244 or contact Evergreen online to schedule your free consult.

Uncover the hidden air leaks making your home uncomfortable and expensive to heat.

BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULT

Update 12/2018: Evergreen has completed Phase II of my house (insulating and installing air/moisture barrier on exterior walls, replacing old windows) and now that heating season is upon us, the difference is astonishing. The house is tight as a drum and so easy to keep warm. Worth every penny. Thank you all! Working with Evergreen was a positive experience from start (no charge energy audit) to finish (a MUCH more comfortable home). Brian Robinson spent a lot of time with me on the audit, explaining clearly what he was finding in my ca.

Rebekah W.

Rockport

We just finished a large project air sealing and reinsulating our 1890s basement and attic. It had been completely renovated 8 years ago, but still felt cold, and lacked proper energy assessment and corrections. We met with Justin in December and were very impressed with his knowledge, professionalism and communication skills and knew Evergreen was who we wanted to work with. Dave was our on hands project manager and was excellent. The office staff has been quick to respond and helpful as well when needed.

E Gallant

Kennebunk

Thorough, smart, informative, integrated, and communicative -- that's how my experience was with Evergreen even with the covid interruption midstream. The team picked up where they left off, insulated basement and air sealed attic and knee wall in 100' temps under the eaves! This business group was a pleasure to work with.

Karen W.

Gray

I would recommend Evergreen wholeheartedly because of their professionalism, their follow through, and thoughtful project planning.

Jennifer A

Several years ago Brian Robinson evaluated the crawl space at my summer home on Islesboro where I knew moisture was becoming a problem. I had done quite a bit of work in the space many years prior with mixed results. When Brian offered some suggestions, they were ideas that incorporated work previously done, and would be a relatively low cost effort to improve the situation. He offered this advice over several phone conversations of some length, informally, and at no charge.

Cliff R.

Islesboro

I am very pleased with my experience with Evergreen Home Performance. I met several times with Richard Burbank and he was very detailed in his explanations to all of my questions. He provided me with several options for improving the insulation to our home. The team of installers were very professional and respectful of our home. They did a great job of cleaning up every day after the days work and they were also very responsive to all my questions as well as we collaborated to get our home better insulated. It was a pleasure to work with Richard and…

Brian C.

Falmouth

Evergreen came out 2 years ago to do an assessment and insulate our roof. This year we had them come back and do the basement as well. They are hands-down the best crew we've ever hired to work on our house. They are experts at what they do, and super meticulous in their work. After working in our house for a week with blown insulation, there was no trace they were ever here. We've seen a huge decrease in our energy bills while at the same time the house has become way more comfortable. Can't recommend them enough.

RC Lations II

Portland

The Evergreen Team did a fabulous job, well exceeding our expectations, In just over a week they transformed our very drafty, noisy 213 year old house into a snug, draft-free, quiet haven with warm floors! The team was prompt, did everything they said they'd do and more. We are thrilled!

Trudy M.

Bridgton

They were highly recommended. I found them to be very knowledgeable and so helpful, with practical ideas. Despite my not living within their service area, they were generous with their knowledge, describing the usual solutions to correct leaks in my basement, and what the result is likely to be by following path A, B or C, and why. I was discouraged. Talking with Evergreen helped me see that my basement problems are far from insurmountable and really, fairly common in 100-year old homes. There are proven solutions.

Rosalind J

Damariscotta

Bryan, Dave and the entire Evergreen team are wonderfully professional, prompt and thorough. I enjoyed working with them and look forward to continued work as we upgrade our home! Thank you so much for your professionalism, fairness, time and diligence.

Cait

Yarmouth

We absolutely loved our experience with Evergreen. The team was incredibly kind, professional and great to work with. We're very impressed with the quality of work of the Evergreen team and how easy they made everything! Our house had barely any insulation ahead of this project and the results are amazing. Insulating the attic, walls and basement with Evergreen allowed us to tear a 50-year-old furnace, ductwork and oil tank out of the basement and now heat the home with new heat pumps. Evergreen also added 100 sq ft of clean, new storage space to the attic!

Nick S.

South Portland

"Working with Evergreen from start to finish was a great experience." See what our customers have to say about their experience with Evergreen Home Performance. 

Jeff L.

We initially contacted Evergreen through Efficiency Maine for an energy audit, which was conducted promptly and professionally by Justin McEdward, one of their Energy Advisors who is BPI-certified. After a thorough inspection of our newly purchased home, Justin explained in great detail what we needed and did not need. It was agreed that Evergreen would remove all of the existing attic insulation, which was not adequate, and replace it with blown in cellulose, to a rating of R-60.

Thomas W.

Scarborough

I waited a year to write this review. Evergreen finished our job late last winter. Terrific results!!! we've gone from 12-day propane deliveries to 30+ day propane deliveries. The house is noticeably warmer. The Evergreen crew was/is professional, prompt, thorough, scientific, gracious and immaculate with respect to keeping our house clean. Money well spent.

John E.

Boothbay

I used to spend winters in the bathtub because my house was so cold. This was my first winter roaming around my whole house comfortably. This even led me to decorate a little. My heating oil usage has been reduced by over a quarter: I rarely have to boost the thermostat because the temp stays at a constant. The Efficiency Maine rebates, together with the energy savings, make it affordable for me to pay for the loan I took out to finance the project. I do not worry about my pipes freezing.

Claire Helene Bevan

Camden

Portland Buy Local
Efficiency Maine
EPA Lead-Safe Certified
Building Performance Association
BPI Certified